Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), authorized under Section 751 of the Public Health Service Act, are designed to assist health professional schools to improve the distribution, supply, quality, utilization, and efficiency of health personnel in scarcity areas through the efficient use of regional educational resources. The AAFP supports the activities of AHECs, specifically as they relate to encouraging student interest in family medicine, establishing new and supporting existing family medicine residencies, assisting rural family physicians in meeting their continuing medical education needs, and educating family physicians as leaders of multidisciplinary health care teams. (B1990) (July 2023 BOD)